Thousands of "Angry" Reactions Hit Taiwan Candidate's Facebook Post, Campaign Says
Taiwanese DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Po-yang's campaign says his Facebook page was hit by a wave of suspicious "angry" reactions, which it blames on foreign bot accounts trying to stir up conflict ahead of the election.
- A single post drew about 46,000 reactions, with over 18,000 marked "angry" — the campaign says many came from accounts showing signs of foreign origin.
- The suspicious accounts reportedly share red flags: no real friend activity, recently created in batches, and empty profiles — typical traits of fake or throwaway accounts.
- The campaign says this will not change its "positive, upbeat" campaign approach and is urging voters not to be swayed by manufactured online sentiment.
- It is calling on social platforms to monitor unusual account activity and asking the public to verify information rather than trust reaction counts at face value.
Outlook: Expect continued scrutiny of social media manipulation as Taiwan's election campaign heats up, with calls for platforms to act on suspicious account clusters.